Aon sells Swett & Crawford (November 17, 2005)

Aon Corporation (NYSE: AOC) has sold its U.S.-based wholesale broking operation, Swett & Crawford, to an investor group including Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Inc. and Banc of America Capital Investors.
Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
In a press release, Greg Case, Aon’s president and CEO, said: “We believe Swett & Crawford has a great future. With the completion of the sale transaction, Swett & Crawford can now move forward to realize its full potential.”
News of the sale comes just days after Aon Corporation announced it was seeking a new owner for its warranty, credit insurance and property & casualty underwriting businesses.
In a previous release, Case said that “by exploring alternatives, we expect to determine if the potential of our warranty, credit and property & casualty businesses can be more fully realized under different ownership.”
Aon Corporation provides risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and management consulting, and specialty insurance underwriting. Aon has 47,000 employees working in 500 offices spread across more than 120 countries.
Based in Dallas, Texas, Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst is a private investment firm that specializes in leveraged buyouts. Its owner, Thomas Hicks, owns the Texas Rangers baseball team and the Dallas Stars hockey team.
During his tenure as CEO of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst between 1989 and 2004, the Hicks Muse firm raised over $12 billion of private equity funds and consummated over $50 billion of leveraged acquisitions.
The company’s acquisitions include AMFM, A&W Brands, Berg Electronics, Dr Pepper/Seven Up Companies, International Home Foods, Life Partners Group, Pinnacle Foods, Sybron International Corporation, and Yell Group plc, among others. The firm also had significant ownership in Clear Channel Communications and LIN Television.